Security threats Toolkit

Story: Microsoft AntiSpyware: Is it worth bothering with?

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Is it worth bothering with? You bet!

I use Ad-Aware and Spybot (always with the latest adware dictionaries) on a regular basis, and when I saw details on ZDNet of MS's new AntiSpyware beta I naturally thought I'd give it a go, out of curiosity. Thank god I did.

I ran Ad-Aware & Spybot first, on 2 PCs. Both machines were found to have an assortment of the usual tracking cookies but nothing nasty. I then let the MS tool loose and was horrified when it found a keystroke logger embedded on my corporate laptop and an ad displayer on the other machine, a corporate desktop.

So what if it isn't designed to root out pesky tracking cookies? These aren't really a threat, though they irritate the heck out of me. The MS jobbie saved my bacon and I have recommended all my colleagues to try it.

God knows how long that malware was on those machines; as a supposedly savvy consultant I pride myself in running clean machines. Much like Firefox users, I felt that any tool offered by MS would be grossly inferior to the excellent Ad-Aware & Spybot, but it turns out that their aquisition of Giant Software was a bloody smart move.

I hate to sound like an MS flunky, and if they charge loads for this once it's out of beta then I take it all back, but for now I am bloody thankful they released it.

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